I have been thinking about what Simplicity is and is not. Over the next few posts I am going to draw from Richard Swenson's book "Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives."
Since this is the season of Lent, I am going to begin with Freedom and Legalism. I think Lent is a time to remember the freedom Christ purchased for us on the cross with his very life. We are free and no longer tied to an impossible to achieve list of things we must be or do to be pleasing to God.
Here is what Swenson has to say:
It is Free- One of the key features of simplicity and, at the same time, one of its principle advantages is that it is a life of freedom. It is free from anxiety--about our reputations, our posessions, our tomorrows. It is being controlled by that which is life-giving and refusing to be controlled by what is destructive.
It is not Legalistic-Those who choose to live a simple lifestyle often set a standard of judgment for the lives of others. Such legalism does not liberate; it kills. It destroys the joy of both the accuser and the accused. The message of simple living is better spread by invitation than judgement.
Being controlled by what is life-giving.....better spread by invitation than judgement. Hmm.
Sometimes I get a little skewed on my motives for simplicity. I don't necessarily judge others. I judge myself instead. I feel guilt over my lifestyle or my access to resources. Then I remember that the One who is Life-Giving, my Jesus, is the One who has given these things to me. A lifestyle and resources that I do not deserve. And yet, I am blesssed. So will I choose to thank Him and praise Him for what he has done in my life or will I continue to run laps around the cross to prove I am worthy? Will I be more responsible with the blessings? Will I choose to be life-giving as Christ has given life to me?
"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."
2 Cornithians 1:3-5
At the end of the day, I am reminded that I am "paid for" in Christ's work on the cross. And I keep on keeping on....
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes on your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes that hang on your body."
Matthew 6: 25 (The Message)
I know that blog discussions have focused on food and clothing previously but I this just came to my mind this week. Getting your mind wrapped around the idea of simplicity has to start somewhere and this was where I started.
If you are new to this blog you can start with food and clothing. If you are a regular reader, what progress have you made in these areas? Here is where I am right now. And at the end there is a point, so bear with me.
A year ago I began tracking my weekly grocery shopping. Every week, on a slip of scratch paper I made a list of things I needed. I realized that there were items I consistently shopped for: milk, bread, eggs, orange juice, cereal, meat, vegetables, etc. I also realized that we pretty much ate the same meals on a regular basis. I simplified my shopping and my meal planning by making a list of the items I buy consistently and put it into a Word file.
With the list already made, I print it out each week, place it on the frig and circle what we need. We can add items as needed. It helps me plan meals as well. I make sure we have chicken, beef and pork in the freezer so I can plan a meal around one of these. My basic meal plan is: Meat, starch (potato, rice or pasta), vegetable, salad and sometimes a fruit or dessert a couple of times a week. I have meals we like best and rotate them through the month.
Why is this part of simplicity? I know we will have something to eat on the table every night. I don't have to fuss or worry over what it will be. I just choose from what I have on hand. I do try new recipes now and then. I usually look for recipes that use what I have in the cupboard.
I have found that I actually spend less time in the grocery store because I know what I need. I spend less money because I get only what we need. I can attach coupons to the list and spend less there as well. At the bottom of each week's list I have a place to date and record the total of what I spent. I attach the receipts and record other purchases as well. When I have a plan, I shop less often and spend less money. I get to spend my time doing other things more worthwhile.
I applied the same principle to my wardrobe. When I worked full time I needed to dress in office attire. I spent a lot of time fussing over my clothes which made me rather nuts. At one point I was traveling weekly making calls to high schools as a college recruiter. I learned very quickly how to pack minimally for a week. Four blouses and two suits.This was a huge lesson in simplicity as I wanted to travel light. I also learned to pack a suitcase in 15 minutes!
The principle I have worked off of the last 20 years has been to find an item of clothing I like and buy more than one sometimes in a different color. Now that I am home full time I can scale way back on clothing. I live in jeans and khaki pants. I buy clothing that goes with more than one thing in my wardrobe and then mix and match. Sometimes it gets kind of humorous in the mornings "Gee, which solid color t-shirt will I wear with my jeans today?" I have a friend who wears mostly black. She never has to spend much time deciding what to wear in the morning as everything matches. With a simple wardrobe I spend less time deciding what to wear, what to buy and I shop less often.
With all that said, there is another issue to tackle here. It is the issue of choice and decision. Richard Swenson says in his book The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits, "So much of daily living is now involved with the making of trivial decisions based on [an] incredible profusion of choice." He gives several examples of the enormity of our choices: 184 choices of breakfast cereal, 250 kinds of toothpaste, 551 kinds of coffee, 1,000,000 titles from Barnes & Noble on-line (and growing).
Choice and decision. In the US we live in a culture of progress and as Swenson says, "Progress relentlessly results in choice. And choice requires decision." Then comes analysis. We have to know what we are chosing from and which one is the best choice for us. Not so simple anymore.
The remedy is to limit your choices. That's how my shopping list and my three pairs of khaki pants help me simplify my life. I have limited my choices on purpose. And you know what? I don't get bored by the routine. Why? because I have time to do the things I really want to do because I am not in the kitchen or the store for more than an hour at a time. The routine in one area of life gives me freedom in another.
What areas of your life could you put limits on choice right now? What routines do you have in your life that you really enjoy?
Keep on keeping on...
Matthew 6: 25 (The Message)
I know that blog discussions have focused on food and clothing previously but I this just came to my mind this week. Getting your mind wrapped around the idea of simplicity has to start somewhere and this was where I started.
If you are new to this blog you can start with food and clothing. If you are a regular reader, what progress have you made in these areas? Here is where I am right now. And at the end there is a point, so bear with me.
A year ago I began tracking my weekly grocery shopping. Every week, on a slip of scratch paper I made a list of things I needed. I realized that there were items I consistently shopped for: milk, bread, eggs, orange juice, cereal, meat, vegetables, etc. I also realized that we pretty much ate the same meals on a regular basis. I simplified my shopping and my meal planning by making a list of the items I buy consistently and put it into a Word file.
With the list already made, I print it out each week, place it on the frig and circle what we need. We can add items as needed. It helps me plan meals as well. I make sure we have chicken, beef and pork in the freezer so I can plan a meal around one of these. My basic meal plan is: Meat, starch (potato, rice or pasta), vegetable, salad and sometimes a fruit or dessert a couple of times a week. I have meals we like best and rotate them through the month.
Why is this part of simplicity? I know we will have something to eat on the table every night. I don't have to fuss or worry over what it will be. I just choose from what I have on hand. I do try new recipes now and then. I usually look for recipes that use what I have in the cupboard.
I have found that I actually spend less time in the grocery store because I know what I need. I spend less money because I get only what we need. I can attach coupons to the list and spend less there as well. At the bottom of each week's list I have a place to date and record the total of what I spent. I attach the receipts and record other purchases as well. When I have a plan, I shop less often and spend less money. I get to spend my time doing other things more worthwhile.
I applied the same principle to my wardrobe. When I worked full time I needed to dress in office attire. I spent a lot of time fussing over my clothes which made me rather nuts. At one point I was traveling weekly making calls to high schools as a college recruiter. I learned very quickly how to pack minimally for a week. Four blouses and two suits.This was a huge lesson in simplicity as I wanted to travel light. I also learned to pack a suitcase in 15 minutes!
The principle I have worked off of the last 20 years has been to find an item of clothing I like and buy more than one sometimes in a different color. Now that I am home full time I can scale way back on clothing. I live in jeans and khaki pants. I buy clothing that goes with more than one thing in my wardrobe and then mix and match. Sometimes it gets kind of humorous in the mornings "Gee, which solid color t-shirt will I wear with my jeans today?" I have a friend who wears mostly black. She never has to spend much time deciding what to wear in the morning as everything matches. With a simple wardrobe I spend less time deciding what to wear, what to buy and I shop less often.
With all that said, there is another issue to tackle here. It is the issue of choice and decision. Richard Swenson says in his book The Overload Syndrome: Learning to Live Within Your Limits, "So much of daily living is now involved with the making of trivial decisions based on [an] incredible profusion of choice." He gives several examples of the enormity of our choices: 184 choices of breakfast cereal, 250 kinds of toothpaste, 551 kinds of coffee, 1,000,000 titles from Barnes & Noble on-line (and growing).
Choice and decision. In the US we live in a culture of progress and as Swenson says, "Progress relentlessly results in choice. And choice requires decision." Then comes analysis. We have to know what we are chosing from and which one is the best choice for us. Not so simple anymore.
The remedy is to limit your choices. That's how my shopping list and my three pairs of khaki pants help me simplify my life. I have limited my choices on purpose. And you know what? I don't get bored by the routine. Why? because I have time to do the things I really want to do because I am not in the kitchen or the store for more than an hour at a time. The routine in one area of life gives me freedom in another.
What areas of your life could you put limits on choice right now? What routines do you have in your life that you really enjoy?
Keep on keeping on...
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Keep on Truckin'
Hello Orchard Hill Simplicity Seekers:
I mentioned to Laura that we should really continue the Simplicity blog. And so here I am, your humble Simplicity Blog encourager. And I mean humble because I am still learning and always will be. My hope is to post every Sunday and think on it through the week.
I have been on a simplicity journey for the last ten years or so. When I gave my heart to Christ in the fall of 1996, I realized I needed to make major adjustments in my lifestyle. I really stepped the effort up two years ago when I was engaged and preparing to marry, Matt, my husband. Now that we are adopting a baby girl, Mieke, I am even more committed to this idea as I want time to spend with her. I hope that maybe I can share some insights, successes and failures and we can encourage each other on this journey.
First off, I have a Bible verse I live by. This is from The Message version:
Philippians 3:12-14
"I am not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way; reaching out for Christ, who has so wonderously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward ---to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I am not turning back."
This verse reminds me to essentially "keep on truckin'." as they used to say. Paul is reminding the Philippians that we must keep on pursuing the cause of Christ, remember that is it not by our own doing or credentials but by Christ's work on the cross and that the reward will be that "He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him." (v. 21)
Simplicity to me is like a spiritual discipline: it adds margin to my life so that I am ready to serve God wherever and whenever He may need me. Simplifying my life has given me time to be about the work God has planned for me. It has freed me from the majority of worry, guilt and anxiety in my life over material things and relationships with others.
Alice asked: "What if this pursuit of simplicity never gets any easier? Am I still willing to make it a "way of life?" From where I stand now, ten years later, yes. It takes time and it becomes a way of life. If you recall, Genesis 3, we were never promised an easy life to begin with!
So with that said, I want to repeat another question Alice asked in her last post:
"What do you hope some of the rewards might be in choosing to live a more simple life?"
Post your comments and I'll work on next week's post. Keep on keeping on my friends.
Julie Ulven
I mentioned to Laura that we should really continue the Simplicity blog. And so here I am, your humble Simplicity Blog encourager. And I mean humble because I am still learning and always will be. My hope is to post every Sunday and think on it through the week.
I have been on a simplicity journey for the last ten years or so. When I gave my heart to Christ in the fall of 1996, I realized I needed to make major adjustments in my lifestyle. I really stepped the effort up two years ago when I was engaged and preparing to marry, Matt, my husband. Now that we are adopting a baby girl, Mieke, I am even more committed to this idea as I want time to spend with her. I hope that maybe I can share some insights, successes and failures and we can encourage each other on this journey.
First off, I have a Bible verse I live by. This is from The Message version:
Philippians 3:12-14
"I am not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way; reaching out for Christ, who has so wonderously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward ---to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I am not turning back."
This verse reminds me to essentially "keep on truckin'." as they used to say. Paul is reminding the Philippians that we must keep on pursuing the cause of Christ, remember that is it not by our own doing or credentials but by Christ's work on the cross and that the reward will be that "He'll make us beautiful and whole with the same powerful skill by which he is putting everything as it should be, under and around him." (v. 21)
Simplicity to me is like a spiritual discipline: it adds margin to my life so that I am ready to serve God wherever and whenever He may need me. Simplifying my life has given me time to be about the work God has planned for me. It has freed me from the majority of worry, guilt and anxiety in my life over material things and relationships with others.
Alice asked: "What if this pursuit of simplicity never gets any easier? Am I still willing to make it a "way of life?" From where I stand now, ten years later, yes. It takes time and it becomes a way of life. If you recall, Genesis 3, we were never promised an easy life to begin with!
So with that said, I want to repeat another question Alice asked in her last post:
"What do you hope some of the rewards might be in choosing to live a more simple life?"
Post your comments and I'll work on next week's post. Keep on keeping on my friends.
Julie Ulven
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